Contemporary Sidepipes

[John Montgomery]

I'd like to replace my slip-fit style headers and sidepipes with the collector and flange type. I don't want any hassels with cutting, measuring, welding, etc, etc. Just take off the old ones and bolt on the new ones in place. Anybody know who makes these? I have a Contemporary with a 427.

Also, I'm going to ceramic coat the new ones. Who would you recommend? I've read a lot of negative stuff about Jet-Hot, so they're probably out. Hyperkoat is an hour away in Orlando, and they seem pretty good over the phone, but I haven't heard anything about them.

Thanks again for all your help,
John

[Cracker]

I too have a 427 contemporary and have heard good things about Stainless Specialties down your way. They have a jig set up for Contemporary's and it should be straight forward for them. My Side exaust is Ceramic coated by HPC and they have held up extremely well and has currently been 7 years. If you go with the stainless - you don't need to ceramic coat them.

Tony Hull

[John Montgomery]

Tony:

Thanks for the response. I too had heard good things about Stainless Specialties and called them today. They are a bit pricey at $1600 just for the side pipes! But, they do not make headers. Also, the main reason for ceramic coating is to reduce the under hood temp. It runs a bit warm in the Florida stop and go traffic.

How does yours run in the hot weather?

Thanks again,
John

[KobraKarl]

John, whats not to like with the slipfits?

[John Montgomery]

Karl:

The main issue is leakage. Right now, the right side leaks a little. I figured if I'm going to go to the trouble of pulling off the exhaust and ceramic coating it, I might as well spend the extra $$$ and go with the collector and flange style.

John

[zimmy]

If leakage is the only problem, you could do what I did. It seems to work very well. I used muffler band clamps to seal the joints. These are thin, wide stainless steel bands (maybe 2" or 3" wide) with grade 8 bolts at the end. You placed them around the pipe at the joint and then tighten the clamp. The steel cold forms around the joint making a very strong and sealed joint. Clamp force is spread and radial so there is no pipe deformation. Only issue is that you need eight clamps and they are almost $10 each.

[Cracker]

John:

My car runs fine in hot weather and we do see the hot & muggy stuff here in Atlanta as well. I have the same problem with small leaks at the union of the primary & side exhaust. The band clamps would be a good solution - so thanks Karl for the suggestion! Let us know what you do!

I almost forgot you mentioned "under hood temps", my car has only had the ceramic coated pipes so I really can't compare but it still gets really hot. I hadn't noticed until I pulled the engine and removed the side pipes but when I did I saw some glazing of the body/paint on the the bottom edge near the collector. My point is - it still gets hot - so don't expect to much.

Regards,

Tony

[John Montgomery]

Tony:

My 427 gets too hot in the summer. I think the main contributing factor is the headers. I wrapped them and that helped a lot but now it seems to have worn off a little. Plus, I read in another thread that wrapping the headers causes them to rust out faster. So, my main project for the summer is to improve the drivabilty of the car by getting the overheating thing under control. If I can't find the style header and sidepipe I'm looking for, I'll just ceramic coat the ones I have and use the band Karl suggested. Then next, if needed, I'll go with the big aluminum radiator.

John

[KobraKarl]

LOL, uh.............. that was the Zimmy solution....., me .........I cant smell the exhaust leaks over the raw fuel.. and I sure cant hear them .... are you guys still using the Contemporary radiator? if so , lets figure out the correct aluminem replacment, and do an online swap & tech support project......what ya think?

KK

[bmalone]

Would be interested to hear what you guys are using for radiators and what might work better to address long periods of standing. Not trying to hijack--it seems we are headed in that direction.

[KobraKarl]

Not a hijack , just the natural trajectory of a conversation......I have a brass radiator..... out of what ,Idont know. my car is one of the early efforts with the vertical radiator mounted well forward. the build manual I have refers to it as "your contemporary radiator"....I do know replacing it with a nice big aluminum one has been on my list for a while.....I hear they are not that expensive but I havnt really decided how to aproach the project yet.. my radiator looks almost as though it is in sideways with the tanks on the ends ...you guys???

[zimmy]

Guys:

I'm not sure but my radiator may be a Griffin. It is the one that came from Contemporary in 1991. I'll check when I get home this weekend and let you know what I find. I'm swapping to new Edlebrock heads (the 72 cc versions) this weekend to get my compression ratio up to a respectable number for my Webers. Wish me luck. It coulod end almost two years of frustrations.

[John Montgomery]

Guys:

I don't think this is a hijack at all....I like the way this subject is going. Anything I can do to get more driving time is fine by me.

Mine was built in 89 and I've owned now for 3 years. I believe it is the original vertical radiator. It had a very small GM style electric fan that I've replaced with a more effecient puller type. That did help a little. I had a reputable radiator shop look at the radiator and he said it looks like it should handle the load to him. It's a 4 core brass radiator. I've talked to other Cobra owners who have replaced theirs with a big, diagonal radiator and that cured all their cooling problems.

I figured I'd start with the ceramic coating since it would be the easiest of the two. Once you get in to changing radiators, then your looking at fabricating brackets and such and that's someting I don't have a lot of experience in doing. So....I'd be really interested in knowing what aluminum radiator works best for our Contemporarys with a 427 so.

Thanks,
John

[KobraKarl]

Zimmy,

Good luck with the new heads, I hope they help. I love the look of webers,and was on the verge of buying a setup last spring when I found I needed to replace my manifold, but have never talked to any one who was able to make them very streetable and I chickened out . those aluminum heads will help I'll bet.

please let me know about your radiator. also is it vertical ? or tipped back?

John,

jet hot or eq. is supposed to be great at reducing engine compartment temps. ( havnt done mine yet) and fabricating with aluminum is not so hard as it may sound,

KK

[bmalone]

I have the Griffin aluminum (built '92). I am very happy with engine temp when car is moving--it runs at 165 all summer long. Just cannot sit still for extended periods of time. Encountering traffic jams (hey, its SoCal), causes me to break out in a cold sweat.

Is it reasonable to expect to be able to keep it cool even when idling for sustained periods?

[KobraKarl]

Bill,

yea , ...we are like Sharks .....if we stop movin ....we ...DIE.

my engine is fine at 5 mph and up in any weather, its the blasting hot days in gridlock that make me grind my teeth,,

i have a good puller fan and generaly Im ok , but I would like a little more cold insurance. Is your radiator tipped back??

[bmalone]

No, its upright.

5 mph? That's pretty good. Mine likeas at least 40 to stay cool.